The ASQ Audit Division did an excellent job with this.. Really…

Referenced Link

In his latest post, Paul Borawski urges the quality community to think about this year’s successes and disappointments.  He hit a big one by calling out the government and their failure to continue supporting the Baldrige program.  I would suggest the quality failure there is the result of a much larger issue that would make for an interesting post in itself!  But, I digress…

For this introspection, I took a more “micro” approach…  Reflecting back, what were my personal quality wins and fails for the year?

Pro QC’s Online Presence -

I feel really good about how Pro QC’s online presence has developed this year. This is a big win for me personally, because it always feels good to see ideas turning into results.  Through our social media efforts, we’ve solidified our position as a company that adds value to the quality community by adding informative, useful content.  I’ve worked hard to get the blog up and create content that people both new and seasoned to the industry can benefit from. I created our Facebook page as a way to primarily communicate with our team.  As a company spread across thirty countries, I wanted a way to connect with everyone outside of daily work email.  The photos and sharing of events and industry news has proven to be a valuable addition to our online presence.  It improves the quality of our team.

While this is an obvious win, it did also fail to meet my expectations to some degree. I’ll admit my expectations regarding involvement were much higher.  One of my goals for 2012 is to take a deeper look into what we’ve done so far, how it can be improved and figure out what new things can we try.  My biggest obstacle is time… there’s never enough it, and most people share in this observation.  But, I don’t think people in general truly understand the benefits of getting involved with social media and the limited time it really takes vs. the overwhelming benefits of being connected.  How do you get people engaged?  Where is the “on” button? How do I get people as interested in quality as I am?

Overall, let’s just say that I’m very pleased with the results so far and am excited to see how we’ll grow and continue reaching even more people with the importance of quality and the role we play in that process.  I wouldn’t be a true quality professional if I didn’t shoot for continuous improvement!

ASQ’s Influential Voices - 

Being a part of ASQ’s Influential Voices has given me the motivation I needed to “raise the voice” outside of my daily work activities.  It reinforced the idea that quality isn’t just what I do… it’s part of who I am.  And, it’s connected me to the larger quality community, whereas I’ve learned quite a bit!  One of my goals for 2011 was to increase my blogging content, and A View from the Q is a large contributor there.  I’m hoping to keep up the momentum and double my average number of posts this year.

While  I would definitely suggest the Influential Voices initiative has been a success, I think the program would largely benefit from additional cross-commenting and communications between bloggers.  I’m guilty of this… posting something and then failing to read all of the other follow-up posts.  I think it really comes down to the time issue again, but additional comments really would create more of a conversation.

And, the winner of the most significant quality event of the year goes to… 

I would be crazy not to mention my adventures in China a few months back.  How does that relate to a quality win for the year? Well, the adventure gave me some much needed perspective.  I needed to remember what production looks like and step into the work of others that I’m often so quick to try and improve or change.

Standing in front of people I’ve worked with for years and only knew via email was pretty cool.  And, my realization of how the Chinese culture interacts (or rather doesn’t interact) with social media in the same ways we do, really had an impact on how I need to get things done in the future.  It was an “ah ha” moment for sure!  From a marketing perspective, I suppose it was more of a “duh” moment…

Taking a video camera into the factories and producing content that gives others an idea of what it’s like to produce “stuff” and the role quality assurance and control play within that process has been interesting, to say the least.  A visual representation of the complexity was just the answer I was looking for.  My only regret is that I didn’t get enough video, but my hope is that I’ve planted the seed and will continue to get footage from our offices that I can edit and post on an ongoing basis.  It’s going to be great…

And, on that note, here’s to a quality 2012! May our successes always outweigh the disappointments… And, may we always learn and adapt when things fail to meet our expectations.

Today is the Great American Teach-In here in Hillsborough County.  SERVE, the county school district’s volunteer arm, presents the Teach-In each year to show students the importance of a good education.  In the spirit of World Quality Month, I decided to “raise my voice” and talk to the 2nd graders at Hunter’s Green Elementary about what it is I do and why I love it.

Let me just say that it’s amazing how much energy and enthusiam kids have! I asked them what they thought “quality” means and was received with some confused glares. You could see that they were really thinking about it and trying to put what they knew it was into words.  Finally, one girl identified it as “good”… <insert big smile>.

Fortunately, I decided to bring some LEGOs with me to discuss the topic.  We pulled down the map and talked about where LEGOs are made (Billund, Denmark) and how they are made. We talked about how the LEGOs would get from Denmark to Tampa, FL. The kids were totally engaged and you could just tell they thought it was pretty cool… they were floored that 1,000 LEGOs are made every second and by how long it takes for “stuff” to to get places.  Did you know that LEGO is the #1 tire manufacturer in the world?

Now, when I asked them how they would feel if they got a LEGO kit and found pieces missing, they used words like “bad” and “angry”.  Quality is good… poor quality is bad.  They got it! But, I wanted to incorporate an international trade component because that part of it is what makes my job with Pro QC so cool.  To do that, I used an activity that I picked up from my macro economics professor way back.  The activity builds value through trading… it gets students thinking about how free trade creates choices and lets us be more demanding for quality when there are more options.  Let me just say that 2nd graders are far more appreciative of “stuff” than the community college crowd! I left there feeling like a superstar having let them keep the traded items. And, when it was all over, they were more comfortable talking about what quality is and why it’s important… win!

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed reading the ASQ Influential Voices responses this month regarding World Quality Month and have really felt the love within the industry.  The quote Paul Borawski references from an old IBM sumes up my sentiments exactly:  “Here’s to National Quality Month and Eleven More Just Like It!”

Sidenote: I can hardly believe one year has passed since I joined ASQ’s Influential Voices program. I feel fortunate to be included among so many other passionate quality professionals.  I have no doubt that we have raised the voice of quality and will continue to do so!

I just finished watching the interview footage with Terry Woychowski, GM’s VP of Global Quality & Lauch, that ASQ posted earlier this month.

In Terry’s interview with ASQ, GM isn’t promising that they’ll exceed your expectations, but rather are being a little more cautious and simply promising you that the “product will do everything they say it will do.” It feels like they are promoting the idea that the same promise wasn’t assumed before.  And, then the consumer (or employee) wonders why not? It also seems inconsistent with their mission, which states that “GM will design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.” It sounds like the message is that they’re going to shoot for the best, but will promise that it will at least do what we say it will.  Either way, if quality is defined as meeting or exceeding expectations, you can’t negate they have repositioned themselves into  a quality-centric organization. That’s a good thing…

That said, I do think Laurel Nelson-Rowe poses an interesting question when she asks if companies must sometimes (often? regularly?) undergo radical organizational change or substantial economic shifts to get back to rigorous quality systems? And, the answer is a resounding yes to both.  As an industry historically resistant to change, I think the U.S. auto industry is the best example of this.  Also, I don’t think “radical” organizational change is necessary on a regular basis, although the assessment of such change is.  If companies are out there scanning the environment and examining internal and external factors affecting their objectives and performance, then they will be able to make ongoing small changes as necessary for realignment.  Of course, regular strategic (macro) level assessments are necessary as well in order to determine if the objectives set remain relevant.  GM learned this the hard way.

“By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail.”  ~Benjamin Franklin

Regarding corporate culture, I think this is something that must be seen and heard.  It can’t just be words in a mission statement.  You have to feel it, both as someone working for the organization and as a consumer in general looking in from the outside.  Reinforcement of the corporate culture must be ongoing and incorporate managements’ passion, dedication and overall support.   While it all seems obvious, we also must make sure we employ the right people that fit the expected corporate culture model.  Reinforcing is much easier than reeducating.

I am rooting for GM to succeed as a leader in the industry and do see passion, dedication and overall support coming from people like Terry. I suppose the proof is in the pudding.

Paul Borawski poses two very interesting questions within his latest View from the Q post…

Does the quality community bear some responsibility for making sure its philosophic foundations are not lost to history?

Too much commentary is unnecessary here… it’s ridiculous that people within the quality industry are somehow lacking basic understanding of historic contributions that still impact how things are being done today.  The better question is where is the disconnect?  I see Deming and Juran referenced everywhere, including the textbooks I’m teaching from.  So, is retention and application somehow an issue?  And, Deming and Juran shouldn’t be limited to the quality industry’s responsibility. Find me an industry where you couldn’t make an argument for their relevance in practical applications… I can’t think of one.   “The past is prologue.” 

What do professionals under the age of 35 see as the future of quality? 

Having read Paul’s post right before my Principles of Management class started (and as a marketer at heart), I decided to reach out to the students and get their opinions. As a night class, I do often find a great deal of students that fall into the under 35 professional demographic.  Here are a few of their comments that they so graciously allowed me to incorporate for introspection:

“Personally, I feel that the future of quality is determined by three aspects; organization, determination & sustainability.” (22)

“I think in the short-term, quality will go downhill as more and more things shift from being handmade to being automated, but as technology gets better, so will quality.” (32)

“The future of quality is customer service. As we move forward in technology and in general, the mark of quality for both an individual and company will be service.” (21)

“I see the quality of the future to be bright, as innovators and visionaries will be in contact and developing more and more technology.” (20)

“The future of quality can simply be defined as sustainability. In an ultra-competitive, high-paced, up and down market, a company must find a way to maintain.  They must find their own identity and stick to it.” (26)

“Quality is a base of a product.  Quality of  a product can drive a person to change their mind.  For example, after looking and considering the qualities of a MacBook, an individual will rarely go back to PC.” (22)

**As an observation from my discussions during previous classes, I have also seen an increasing interest in sustainability and a focus on technology.  I would tend to agree that this is the future of quality.  If accomplished, amazing things will likely happen!